Pumidor candidate

Hey guys, So now with quite a large collection im getting more and more worried about lack of humidity having a negative effect on my collection. I was thinking about getting this little greenhouse and putting some trays with water at the bottom along with a fan. what do you guys think?

I recall that somebody had a similar setup.... but I can't remember the specifics (I do remember the plastic was opaque...).

If there's any way you can visit a Harbor Freight and check it out in person, I would double-check the smell, which I think will be your biggest danger. Presumably if there is an odor, it would eventually dissipate, but sometimes some plastics can be odd about odors.

The clear plastic means that you'll want to make sure the tea is in a dark area (or at least, not exposed to direct light a lot).

And the only other major concern I would have is how the humidity will interplay with the plastic. It may not be a problem, but sometimes it's hard to say about the possibilities for mold growing on the plastic...

I actually saw it for the first time in the store so i was able to get a good feel about it. I did not smell it but i could only imagine that after some time any smell would go away, i guess you would just need to see.

I am well aware of the light and what not and the unit would simply sit inside the closet where my tea is kept currently.

Mold would definitely be my main concern, that is why i wanted to ask around just to see if there is any experience out there. It would be testing new waters, but if it works the rewards would be great.

I do not know if this is all plastics, but one thing I will say, is a few years ago, my parents basement started to have a really foul smell that was getting stronger and stronger but always seemed to be there. It turns out in the end after we really worked to track it down, that it was Plastic Tubs and Legos stored in a closet that were letting off the odor. So certain plastics as they age eventually start to let off a bad aroma.

I don't have any experience with pumidors but from my experience with these types of thin plastics they tend to get rather off smelling after awhile. Even more so if its exposed to hot summer heat. Maybe this ones different so i could be wrong. Also there isn't a whole lot of airflow inside that thing so that is going to pose another risk once you try and raise the humidity.

I think that internal airflow is critical -- since this system would have the water source at the bottom, it will need some method to spread the humidity throughout.

If it's external airflow, or air exchange with "fresh" air, then I am less certain of the need (assuming all the plastic odor is gone). Personally, I would probably try to open the system up and give it fresh air occasionally. Would that slow/stop any mold problems...? I have no clue...

The reason for the plastic idea was because I am currently a college student so I do not have the ability to be changing humidifier tanks every 2-3 days so i thought by bring down the size and putting trays in would make it last longer. Air flow both in and out is definitely a concern.

My final decision is to just wait until I return and get an entire room or closet humidifier, due to the fact that I am not willing to risk the money put into the collection. Does anyone here use a humidifier?

The cabinet that I have for my tea uses the humidifiers listed over here -- they're the ones in the upper left. So the cost is probably a deal breaker.

But... to give you an idea of the effort involved, I think they are the 1.5 qt type (the large). The cabinet has 2 of these humidifiers (the cabinet itself probably holds the equivalent of of 40-50 tongs -- hard to gauge). And I usually have to add water to the humidifiers once every two or three months (more often in the summer; more often when I've added new stuff).

It has an auto regulation system, which I think I have set around 68-70 relative humidity. The cabinet itself is "sealed" but certainly not air-tight (there's even a hole in the back for the power cable to make an exit.

Oh, while searching, I managed to find this thread by TeaEye, which I think is the one I was thinking of as a similar setup to the one shogun is posting about... unfortunately I don't think he's been around in awhile to say how it's been going...

Drax Does the humidifier you using have a temperature controller on it as well? It seemed to imply that on the site but did not say so specifically I'm using the cigar oasis Xl. For humidity but my main Problem right now is temp. I am using a cupboard. I have converted but it is on an outside wall and is not well insulated so on cold days it gets really chilly in there.

Last edited by gasninja on Jan 30th, '12, 10:47, edited 1 time in total.